Day 13 – Finally, I blend in.

Number of Cockroach Sightings:  2, possibly 3 (two spotted by husband in semi-dark bathroom, they remain at large.  The other later smooshed to death with husbands foot, we think it could have been one of the two sighted earlier.)

We had to abandon any plans of attending the “cool” shul or accepting any invites in the neighbourhood where we are househunting, it’s actually too hot to go anywhere and people are basically staying indoors if they can.  Despite that, we trooped off to the nearest shul for a bit this morning to get Jojo a bit of air, (or dust, rather) before it got even hotter and we were also eager to go anywhere with aircon.  The shul turned out to be sefardi, so they were nearly done by the time we trooped in, Jojo was offered sticky toffees (despite the fact he has hardly any teeth – have these people ever met  a child??) and only a small group of women welcomed me.  To be fair, they probably thought we were part of the barmitzva crew, as there were a group of people there who had that “out-of-towner” look about them that people have when they attend a relatives barmitzva.  In my old shul, this look was all about Prada and Gucci.  Here it’s Jeans & a Tshirt. 

One thing on my “advantages to making aliyah” list is definitely my name.  For 30 years I have had an unpronounceable, totally unconventional name that always causes people to say “sorry, what?” and nobody ever knows whether I am male or female until they actually meet me.   Hence, with grateful (?) thanks to my siblings, I resorted to allowing people to use an even more ridiculous nickname to avoid them tripping over my hebrew one, and making me sound like a dreadful disease or small, annoying insect.  My rule was that only Israelis were allowed to use my real name.  Now, I come here and for the first time I don’t have to repeat my name, it blends in and it’s actually quite sophisticated.  Kind of like being called Rose or Grace in the UK.  (It is quite funny though watching the cogs turning in people’s head wondering how Brit Girl got such a classic hebrew name.)

Husband on the other hand, having the opposite experience.  He has a “standard” english name but nobody Israeli can pronounce it and it looks completely weird in Hebrew.  (Ha ha now he knows how I feel).  Have tried to convince him to use his hebrew name, Yitzchak, which is nice and easy here, but he’s not going for it.  Says he wont feel like himself.  (shame, I think he’s a classic Yitzchak, quietly confident, respectful to parents, etc).  Truth is it may be a disadvantage for him to change his name, as he will most likely be applying for jobs where speaking english is an advantage, so it’s probably best if they see upfront he is an anglo. 

The heat became so unbearable this afternoon that we sought refuge once again at our neighbours flat with her aircon.  I am more than happy to be in a small space with zillions of children so long as I can breathe 🙂  It seems, July and August here are the Israeli equivalent of December and January in London – basically an indoor lifestyle.

In case anyone was wondering, the chicken was fine…